Pablo Bendr walks down the stairs at LA’s Greek Theater after performing to a crowd of over 6,000 fans. This well known DJ makes his way to the car and heads directly to the studio where he will spend the night overseeing beats and melodies. He has just shared the stage with La Ley, one of the most popular Latin rock bands of all time (with multiple Grammy awards to their name), but Bendr is driven to be just as successful at his day job as a music producer as he has become at his “rockstar” gig as one of LA’s most in demand DJs. While others are content to bask in the fame of the moment, Pablo is committed to making his own hits to enable him to maintain a thriving career for many years to come. Bendr is highly different from the majority of DJs in the fact that he began his musical endeavors as a classically trained pianist, competing and playing concerts in his home country of Chile. The commitment and discipline he learned on the keyboards not only allowed him to compose his own music in the electronic world but also transferred over to his work ethic as a producer. While most of his peers are seeing the throngs of adoring fans, Bendr is seeing the future and his music’s place in it, as well as his ability to assist other artists in furthering their own careers. This duplicitous nature of Pablo’s career serves to make him even more sought out in the US music scene. A couple of nights after the Greek show finds him in San Diego playing for a smaller but equally energetic crowd of 1,200 Bendr gives the audience no less of himself and his abilities than he did at the Greek show, a level of energy matched in the studio again that night.

While Pablo is disproving the stereotype of the DJ who parties all night and sleep all day, he is also comfortable contrasting the idea that music producers are not adept performers. Producers such as the great Quincy Jones are too often overlooked when the public considers the person behind the hits; Pablo is working furiously to give producers/performers the notoriety he feels they so accurately deserve. He confirms, “There are a handful of us [DJs] that are producers. We have a dual job. We spend hours in the studio creating our own songs and then play them during our DJ set. Production is a big part of the equation that people are not always familiar with. Many people think that all a DJs does is push buttons, twist knobs, and clap their hands. While that might be true for some people in the profession, in my case, I am in the studio creating my own tracks. It would be accurate to say that DJing is the social part of my career while being a producer is the serious side of it.” Bendr is so “seriously” adept at music production that he has worked with some of the icons of the music industry here in the US, like Robert Margouleff. The Grammy award-winning Margouleff was co-producer on many of Stevie Wonders most legendary albums including; Innervisions, Fullfillingness’ First Finale, Talking Book, and Music of My Mind. Robert makes note of Bendr’s talent stating, “I have been working with Pablo Bendr as a music composer and music producer since 2015. He brings a high degree of professionalism to every project he works on. He is intelligent, sensitive, talented, and a productive professional in our music industry.”

Hearkening back to the story of his beginning days in music, Bendr begins most of his compositions on piano. While seeking inspiration at the keys, cup of coffee in hand, Pablo discovers the melodies that will be the center of his compositions. After creating the beats to accompany these, the process follows a direction which is unusual for most DJ/Music Producers. Pablo reveals, “I’ll spend a few weeks getting all of the sounds the way I like them on synths but then I bring in the vocals. My style is electronic but with a lot of pop elements. I add vocals to almost all of my tracks. This involves recording a live singer, editing the vocals, and mixing them in with the song.  Vocals are not always present in dance music. I feel that this extra step in my music makes it stand out. A lot of electronic artist/producers don’t go to this place.” This emphasis on vocals has not only resulted in Pablo developing his own sound and style but has also led to many artists seeking out his talents to produce and remix their work. Pablo recently did a remix for female pop artist D’Lannie as well as an original track with vocals from one of the members of the Glee cast. Many well known vocalists have become increasingly interested in Bendr’s style. Beto Cuevas is the lead singer of world-renowned, multi-Grammy award winning Chilean rock band La Ley, boasting more than 25 years of music trajectory and countless performances across the map. To this date, the group has released 10 albums and is currently signed to Warner Bros. Records. La Ley and Beto Cuevas are considered by many to be one of the most successful Latin rock bands in history to date, encompassing an immense following of fans from all across the Americas, Europe, and beyond. After winning 2 Latin Grammys, 2 MTV awards as “Best Latin Rock band”, the group triumphantly conquered global recognition after winning a World Grammy in 2001 as “Best Alternative Rock Band”. Beto declares, “Pablo is immensely talented as a music producer in the electronic dance genre. He is able to simultaneously create a captivating melodic storyline while also maintaining a strong dance beat. In an era with so many rising EDM artists, he definitely stands out among the crowd. He brings to the table a unique sound that leaves an impact both lyrically and melodically.”  Bendr is achieving success with composing and producing his own music as well. Chile’s Radio Carolina (one of the country’s most popular and established radio stations) has placed Bendr’s song “Couldn’t You Be Mine” in rotation.

There are many items on Pablo’s goals for the future; continued growth as an artist and producer, recurrent gigs, but most notably…working with some of the artists he has always admired. He notes, “I want to keep improving my production and crafting my sound. Some of the artists I most admire are Eric Prydz, Avicii, Calvin Harris and the Swedish House Mafia guys, and I’d love to be able to collaborate with them someday”.They are all amazing House producers with a strong pop component to their work- which is my style. There’s so much I’d love to learn from them, and I feel that we could make a good track together. When it comes to singers, I’d love to be able to write a song with Emma Hewitt or Christina Novelli. In my opinion, they are the best voices in the EDM world today, and are both insanely talented. Their voices just pop out from the speakers and penetrate directly into your skin, giving you the chills. I can never hear enough Hewitt or Novelli in a song.